One or more aspects of the present invention relate in general to data processing systems, and in particular, to integrating a communication bridge into a data processing system and external networks.
A device for processing network communication that increases the speed of that processing and the efficiency of transferring data being communicated has been described. The protocol processing method and architecture effectively collapses the layers of a connection-based, layered architecture such as TCP/IP, into a single wider layer which is able to send network data more directly to and from a desired location or buffer on a host. This accelerated processing is provided to a host for both transmitting and receiving data, and so improves performance whether one or both hosts involved in an exchange of information have such a feature. The accelerated processing includes employing representative control instructions for a given message that allow data from the message to be processed via a fast-path which accesses message data directly at its source or delivers it directly to its intended destination. This fast-path bypasses conventional protocol processing of headers that accompany the data. The fast-path employs a specialized microprocessor designed for processing network communication, avoiding the delays and pitfalls of conventional software layer processing, such as repeated copying and interrupts to the CPU. In effect, the fast-path replaces the states that are traditionally found in several layers of a conventional network stack with a single state machine encompassing all those layers, in contrast to conventional rules that require rigorous differentiation and separation of protocol layers. The host retains a sequential protocol processing stack which can be employed for setting up a fast-path connection or processing message exceptions. The specialized microprocessor and the host intelligently choose whether a given message or portion of a message is processed by the microprocessor or the host stack.
Also, previously described is a method of generating a fast-path response to a packet received onto a network interface device where the packet is received over a TCP/IP network connection and where the TCP/IP network connection is identified at least in part by a TCP source port, a TCP destination port, an IP source address, and an IP destination address. The method includes: 1) Examining the packet and determining from the packet the TCP source port, the TCP destination port, the IP source address, and the IP destination address; 2) Accessing an appropriate template header stored on the network interface device. The template header has TCP fields and IP fields; 3) Employing a finite state machine that implements both TCP protocol processing and IP protocol processing to fill in the TCP fields and IP fields of the template header; and 4) Transmitting the fast-path response from the network interface device. The fast-path response includes the filled in template header and a payload. The finite state machine does not entail a TCP protocol processing layer and a discrete IP protocol processing layer where the TCP and IP layers are executed one after another in sequence. Rather, the finite state machine covers both TCP and IP protocol processing layers. Buffer descriptors that point to packets to be transmitted are pushed onto a plurality of transmit queues. A transmit sequencer pops the transmit queues and obtains the buffer descriptors. The buffer descriptors are then used to retrieve the packets from buffers where the packets are stored. The retrieved packets are then transmitted from the network interface device. There are two transmit queues, one having a higher transmission priority than the other. Packets identified by buffer descriptors on the higher priority transmit queue are transmitted from the network interface device before packets identified by the lower priority transmit queue.